Friday, June 02, 2006

It is all over the blog that Abed Tavanchech, a blogger and student at Tehran's Amirkabir polytechnic university, who has been missing since 26 May and may well have been arrested after posting photos and reports about the demonstrations taking place at his university for the past few weeks. Two other bloggers Arash Sigarshi and Mojtaba Saminejad, are currently in prison in Iran. Source: Reporters without Border

As I write this, I am watching Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak give his speech at the World Economic Forum, being held in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. The usually pro-US Mubarak has just delivered what can only be described as a fiery anti-US speech, criticizing the American push for democratic reforms in Egypt. He informed the world that he was confident his government was "on the right path" when it comes to democratic reforms, but he cautioned that changes should be gradual to avoid "chaos and setbacks." -Sandmonkey

Egypt, blogging can land you in jail, apparently. That’s the case for at least six bloggers in that country, who have been jailed following a spate of arrests after political demonstrations in Cairo. The Washington Post today looks at the case of one such blogger, Alaa Seif al-Islam. His blog, which he writes with his wife, Manalaa “began not only to describe the troubles of Egypt under its authoritarian president, Hosni Mubarak, but also described acts of repression and became a vehicle for organizing public protests,” writes the Post. The blog has caught the attention of uber-blogger Glenn Reynolds, University of Tennessee law professor and author of Instapundit, who told the Associated Press of Seif Al-Islam: "He's certainly the most famous blogger in Egypt and arguably the best known reformer there now. When you suppress dissent, even minor voices become incredibly powerful."